1. Field
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to a semiconductor design technology, and more particularly, to the technology of testing a semiconductor device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, for defect analysis and performance inspection of a semiconductor device, an internal operation of a semiconductor device is tested by performing a test mode.
There are few hundreds types of test modes of the semiconductor device. Each of unique test entry codes, corresponding to the test modes, determines which test mode enters.
Further, reset operations of each of the test modes need to activate signals that may reset each of the test modes, like test reset signals.
Meanwhile, due to the increased demand for high-speed and high-integration semiconductor devices, types of test modes are gradually increased. To effectively perform inspection of the types of increasingly test modes, a test operation method of grouping a plurality of test modes (e.g., a global test mode reset method) has been used.
By grouping the test modes, it may be possible to greatly reduce the number of control signals required for performing the test modes and such advantages of the simplification by grouping the test modes may increase as the types of the test modes to be performed are increased.
In particular, one signal, such as a group test mode reset signal that may reset a plurality of test modes belonging to a group at a time may substitute the test mode reset signals to reset each of the test modes.
However, as described above, when the test mode reset operation is performed in a group unit in which the plurality of test modes is included, the reset operation needs to be performed in a group unit even when only some test modes are reset, so as to control a setting of some of the plurality of test modes. That is, some test modes and the remaining test modes both may be reset.
As described above, the method of grouping the test modes may simplify the control, but needs to unconditionally reset all of the plurality of test mode operations belonging to the group so as to separately reset only some test mode operations.